Sandra Rosas

A trial date was set Thursday for Gabriel Gomez, 39, who could face the death penalty for charges of kidnapping and murdering his half-sister Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos guitarist Cesar Rosas. Gomez will go on trial Feb. 10. During his preliminary hearing Thursday, he sat motionless as attorneys and prosecution witnesses sketched out details of the case that started the night of Oct. 23, when Rosas disappeared from her Rowland Heights home. Police have yet to find her body.

Homicide detectives said Monday that remains unearthed from a shallow grave off Sand Canyon Road in the Santa Clarita Valley have been identified as those of Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos bandleader Cesar Rosas. Identification of the bones exhumed Nov. 22 from the grave site near a hilly dirt road was made by using dental records of the woman killed by her half brother, Gabriel Gomez, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Roberta Granek.

Sheriff's investigators Saturday abandoned a search for the body of the wife of Los Lobos musician Cesar Rosas at a Rowland Heights park after concluding that her convicted murderer lied about where he buried her remains. Sheriff's homicide detectives had searched Schabarum Regional Park about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles for Sandra Rosas' body for the last three days after Gabriel Gomez, her convicted killer, led authorities there.

Coroner's investigators unearthed skeletal remains Wednesday from a shallow grave off Sand Canyon Road, where the man who killed the wife of Los Lobos singer Cesar Rosas had led authorities. Forensic experts said they will conduct an autopsy and compare dental records today to determine whether the bones are those of Sandra Rosas, who was slain by her half-brother, Gabriel Gomez.

A year after the disappearance of Sandra Rosas, wife of Los Lobos lead singer Cesar Rosas, her half brother went on trial in her murder and kidnapping--a crime prosecutors say was motivated by the suspect's fear he might lose his "meal ticket." Although her body has never been found, prosecutors say her abandoned, bloodstained van was located in La Puente. The trial of Gabriel Gomez, 40, began Monday in Pomona Superior Court with testimony from the dead woman's eldest daughter.

Coroner's investigators unearthed skeletal remains Wednesday from a shallow grave in Canyon Country, where the man who killed the wife of Los Lobos singer Cesar Rosas had led authorities. Forensic experts said they will conduct an autopsy and compare dental records today to determine whether the bones are those of Sandra Rosas, who was murdered by her half-brother Gabriel Gomez.

A convicted felon accused of murdering his half-sister, the wife of Los Lobos band member Cesar Rosas, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and kidnapping charges. Gabriel Gomez, 39, of Whittier, could face the death penalty for the kidnapping and murder of Sandra Rosas, 47, of Rowland Heights. A official with the district attorney's office said prosecutors will not announce if they will seek the death penalty until a preliminary hearing Jan. 27.

Sheriff's detectives still have no solid leads in the disappearance of Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas, but they announced Wednesday that they are not seeking kidnapping charges against her half brother. Sandra Rosas, 47, has been missing since Saturday night, when she was last seen at her Rowland Heights home, said sheriff's spokesman Boris Nikolof.

Homicide detectives said Monday that remains unearthed from a shallow grave off Sand Canyon Road in the Santa Clarita Valley have been identified as those of Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos bandleader Cesar Rosas. Identification of the bones exhumed Nov. 22 from the grave site near a hilly dirt road was made by using dental records of the woman killed by her half brother, Gabriel Gomez, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Roberta Granek.

A Whittier man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole--plus 22 years--for the kidnap and murder of his half sister, the wife of Los Lobos singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas. Her body has never been found. Reportedly overwhelmed with remorse after the sentencing, Gabriel Gomez, 40, led detectives, his attorney and two reporters to a Rowland Heights park in a nighttime search for the corpse of Sandra Rosas.

Coroner's investigators unearthed skeletal remains Wednesday from a shallow grave in Canyon Country, where the man who killed the wife of Los Lobos singer Cesar Rosas had led authorities. Forensic experts said they will conduct an autopsy and compare dental records today to determine whether the bones are those of Sandra Rosas, who was murdered by her half-brother Gabriel Gomez.

Sheriff's investigators Saturday abandoned a search for the body of the wife of Los Lobos musician Cesar Rosas at a Rowland Heights park after concluding that her convicted murderer lied about where he buried her remains. Sheriff's homicide detectives had searched Schabarum Regional Park about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles for Sandra Rosas' body for the last three days after Gabriel Gomez, her convicted killer, led authorities there.

A Whittier man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole--plus 22 years--for the kidnap and murder of his half sister, the wife of Los Lobos singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas. Her body has never been found. Reportedly overwhelmed with remorse after the sentencing, Gabriel Gomez, 40, led detectives, his attorney and two reporters to a Rowland Heights park in a nighttime search for the corpse of Sandra Rosas.

Deliberating a crime in which the body was never found, a Pomona Superior Court jury took less than two hours Tuesday to convict a man of kidnapping and murdering his half sister, the wife of Los Lobos' lead singer and guitarist Cesar Rosas. Gabriel Gomez, 40, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Sandra Rosas, 47, who was abducted from her Rowland Heights home Oct. 23, 1999.

The wife of Los Lobos lead singer and guitarist Cesar Rosas was "ripped from her life" by a half brother who killed her in the family van, prosecutors argued Monday. But the alleged killer's defense attorney said the case against his client was full of holes, including the fact that no body has been found. "We don't have proof that she is dead--just that she's missing," Antonio Bestard said.

A year after the disappearance of Sandra Rosas, wife of Los Lobos lead singer Cesar Rosas, her half brother went on trial in her murder and kidnapping--a crime prosecutors say was motivated by the suspect's fear he might lose his "meal ticket." Although her body has never been found, prosecutors say her abandoned, bloodstained van was located in La Puente. The trial of Gabriel Gomez, 40, began Monday in Pomona Superior Court with testimony from the dead woman's eldest daughter.

Coroner's investigators unearthed skeletal remains Wednesday from a shallow grave off Sand Canyon Road, where the man who killed the wife of Los Lobos singer Cesar Rosas had led authorities. Forensic experts said they will conduct an autopsy and compare dental records today to determine whether the bones are those of Sandra Rosas, who was slain by her half-brother, Gabriel Gomez.

Deliberating a crime in which the body was never found, a Pomona Superior Court jury took less than two hours Tuesday to convict a man of kidnapping and murdering his half sister, the wife of Los Lobos' lead singer and guitarist Cesar Rosas. Gabriel Gomez, 40, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Sandra Rosas, 47, who was abducted from her Rowland Heights home Oct. 23, 1999.

A trial date was set Thursday for Gabriel Gomez, 39, who could face the death penalty for charges of kidnapping and murdering his half-sister Sandra Rosas, the wife of Los Lobos guitarist Cesar Rosas. Gomez will go on trial Feb. 10. During his preliminary hearing Thursday, he sat motionless as attorneys and prosecution witnesses sketched out details of the case that started the night of Oct. 23, when Rosas disappeared from her Rowland Heights home. Police have yet to find her body.

A convicted felon accused of murdering his half-sister, the wife of Los Lobos band member Cesar Rosas, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and kidnapping charges. Gabriel Gomez, 39, of Whittier, could face the death penalty for the kidnapping and murder of Sandra Rosas, 47, of Rowland Heights. A official with the district attorney's office said prosecutors will not announce if they will seek the death penalty until a preliminary hearing Jan. 27.